The Cost of Ke$ha

Ke$ha is set to perform at LIU Post’s 2015 Spring Fling concert on April 29. The artist’s latest album, “Warrior,” was released in 2012, and her latest hit featuring Pitbull, “Timber,” was released in 2013.

Photo: Michael Zorn / WireImage

Ticket prices for the concert range from $15 for students with an LIU Post ID card to $38.40 for the general public through Ticketmaster. The Student Government Association, which provides each student organization with a yearly budget, decides post’s Spring Fling budget; the money for the concert is included in the Association of Campus Programming’s budget.

According to Michael Berthel, Director of Campus Life, the concert is funded by students, run by students, and completely planned for students. Berthel added that the event can cost from $60,000- $100,000, depending on the artist and the year, and that the budget fluctuates based on the amount of artists booked, the type of artist, and even the day of the week on which the concert is held.

“Most of the budget for the spring concert is allocated to bring in the best artist possible; however, there are other costs including production, security, and promotion,” Berthel said. “Obviously, the more well-known and popular the artist, the more money it costs.”

Berthel said the Spring Fling concert is one of the biggest events of the year, and that it is a great opportunity for students to come out and enjoy campus life. Berthel said the campus likes making well-known artists affordable for students to enjoy the experience. “Having the Tilles Center on campus is a great resource, and allows Post students to see artists and shows that other college students don’t have the opportunity to see,” Berthel said.

Adelphi also booked Ke$ha to perform at their spring concert on April 23, hosted by their student activities board, according to Lauren Purcaro, Adelphi’s Senior Assistant Director of the Center for Student Involvement. The concert is being held in Adelphi’s gym for the first time this year. The cost of that concert is not available since the university signed a non-disclosure agreement stating that they cannot discuss the terms of the contract, according to Purcaro.

Kaitlyn Veygel, a junior Broadcasting major, said that she has seen Ke$ha in concert twice, approximately two years ago, at the Jones Beach Theater. She said that both times she had decent seats and the tickets were no more than $25 each time.

Veygel does not find Ke$ha to be worth the amount of money that it appears she is being paid, which, according to Campus Life, is between $60,000-$100,000, because of the fact that she is irrelevant. “She hasn’t even had her own single for at least two years now. She wasn’t even on the survey for who should come to Post.”

All of the 24 students who were told about the budget of the Spring Fling and the price in which Ke$ha’s payout ranges were in shock. Not a single student found Ke$ha to be relevant enough for the range of student activity fees that is being spent on her upcoming performance.